‘A Brexit will result in less European research funding to British universities.’
Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

What does the prospect of Brexit mean for one of Britain’s major export industries – science and academia? And can British science afford to lose the European scientists that currently work here? The data suggests not.

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Scientists move to the UK because they want to improve their career prospects by working with outstanding research teams in a country that is world leading in science and innovation. Britain also offers a well-established, dynamic and flexible scientific career path. Due to the increase of foreign scientists in the last few years, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian expatriate scientists (among others) have begun forming support networks in the UK to promote science communication and international relationships.

The Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK) has established more than 400 members since 2012. It helps foster international research collaborations to attract both European funding and scientific talent into the UK. In most of these expat cases, their countries of origin paid for their education and training and may never get that investment back. Instead, Britain will benefit from the most productive years of these individuals. In other words, they are low-cost, highly-talented researchers.

Scientists tend to follow stable funding in research, so the richer and more science-friendly a country becomes, the more researchers tend to flock to it. But British success could now be at risk.

There is a broad range of estimates trying to quantify what an exit from the EU would do to the size of the UK economy. But it is generally agreed that in the short-term, the British economy will shrink, making the UK a less attractive country for highly skilled migrants. Moreover, this will result in less European funding to British institutions and isolation from the dynamisms of the scientific system in the EU.

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Since 2007 when the European Research Council (ERC) funding scheme began, the UK has secured 21% of the European money compared to its next competitor Germany with 14.5%. More than a half of the ERC Consolidator 2014 grantees – the most talented researchers – in the UK were European non-British. This will lead to a potential brain drain similar to what southern-Europe has been suffering from during these last years of financial crisis.

Currently, as an EU citizen, you only need to show your passport to be able to work. In order to maintain the current flow of highly qualified individuals, the tier 1 visa would need to open up dramatically. But the damage will already be done for British academia.

The main concern for senior researchers, including principle investigators , will be to secure funding to attract the best researchers. These funds will entirely depend on governmental investment in research and development, and whether European money becomes available. The feasibility of recruiting good scientists from abroad for research projects will be also a major concern for principal investigators. Junior researchers with non-open ended positions might have to face restrictions on fellowship applications and will be more likely to leave – as they are less settled – to more welcoming countries, like Europe or the US. Finally, PhD students will be less prone to come to the UK if there is as a shortage of studentships for non-British citizens.

It’s time for the UK science community to speak up for all its members, to make it clear that British science is world leading due to its international researcher base, and to explain clearly that a Brexit ushers in the mood that will chase away talent in droves. The UK shouldn’t sharpen the knife to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

Nerea Irigoyen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge and Eduardo Oliver is a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London – both are part of the board of directors of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK.